Chicago, Dec 5 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sent Procter & Gamble Co and Kraft Foods Inc's patent fight over plastic coffee containers back to a U.S. district court on Friday.
P&G sued Kraft in August 2007, alleging that Kraft's Maxwell House plastic coffee container infringed P&G's patent for Folgers coffee containers. P&G started selling Folgers coffee in plastic containers in 2003 and has said that the packaging helped boost sales.
P&G also sought a preliminary injunction to stop Kraft from selling its coffee in the plastic containers.
Kraft then filed a motion for a stay pending its appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California put the lawsuit on hold in October 2007 pending the outcome of a review by the U.S. patent office.
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals said the district court "abused its discretion by effectively denying P&G's motion without proper consideration of the merits." The appeals court sent the case back to the district court for reconsideration.
In November, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirmed the validity of P&G's patent for a plastic coffee container for a second time, giving the company confidence it would prevail in its lawsuits against Kraft. Kraft, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that it does not infringe patents.
"P&G should not be allowed to monopolize the market on plastic packaging for roast and ground coffee," Kraft said.
P&G said it is confident that it will win the case.
While P&G sold the Folgers brand of coffee to JM Smucker Co a month ago it has continued to lead the litigation against Kraft.
In October, P&G widened its patent infringement lawsuit against Kraft to include some coffees used in Kraft's single- serving Tassimo coffee system. In September, P&G filed another suit against Kraft dealing with a new four-pound plastic container for Maxwell House coffee.